5. The company provides free access and
subsidized on site doctor’s surgeries.
6. All staff has a voice where they
can raise their ideas, opinions or
experiences through an employee
forum held once every two months.
Health & Safety
Quinta do Azenha works beyond
recognized farm assurance schemes
through the practices of OHSA 18001 and
falls under a wider programme across the
Vitacress Portugal Group.
be an ecosystem or trophic pyramid
in place if we are genuinely serious
about leaving something for the next
generations to come.
Our adoption of Conservation Grade
under the headings, coupled with the
measures we operate under the Agro-
technology sector in addition to our
latest patented harvesting technology,
linked with the opportunities rural
tourism has to play in our local economy
and how we can contribute, are the keys
as to why Azenha do Mar should qualify
for a Flag Ship Farm status.
What are the “Good Practices”
which make this a Flagship Farm?
Human Health & Welfare
We take great pride in looking after our
staff not least because agriculture is one of
the main sources of income in the region.
To put this into perspective;
1. Circa 60% of the 48 workers at Azenha
do Mar has served for on the farm for
between 3 & 20 years.
2. Our staff, irrespective of position
or length of service, earns 14% more
than the national minimum wage in a
region which is already regarded as
disadvantaged.
3. All our staff have the opportunity
to qualify for an additional monthly
premium specifically tailored at
promoting an upholding the company’s
values, objectives and performance.
An additional €100 per month
is available and awarded at the
discretion of how well these targets
have been met.
4. Any employee, who has served for
12 months or more, qualifies for free
Life & Health Insurance.
Food Safety
The baseline and minimum standard for
validating Good Agricultural Practice on
our farming operation is Global GAP for
which Azenha do Mar has consistently
performed and met all criteria since 2003.
However, because we are vertically
integrated, have full control & influence
over our supply chain, and RTE Salads
can arguably be classified as a higher
risk category of food when compared
with others, we go further.
We operate up to 5 GAP schemes, some
of which are well known, others less so,
but needless to say the central thread to
everything we do is based on HACCP.
Managing food safety hazards and their
associated risks are equally applied in
an open field environment to that one
usually associated with a post harvesting
processing plant, eliminated to an
acceptable level at our washing,
sorting or packing stages of operation.
Rural Landscape Preservation
The unique setting of Azenha do Mar
serves as a huge advertisement of how
sustainable agriculture can co-exist in an
area of outstanding natural beauty.
In 2011 Azenha do Mar became the first
farming operation outside the United
Kingdom to adopt the Conservation
Grade or, “Nature Friendly Farming”.
Environment
Our environmental policy operated at
Azenha do Mar identifies seven key
areas: pollution, soil management,
crop protection, water, waste, energy &
biodiversity and is aligned and managed
to ISO 14001 standards. ■
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